


Coffee and Lemonade

by Harrukawa



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Based on a prompt on tumblr!, Clouis, F/M, Louisentine, bur Person B isn’t catching their subtle hints, coffee shop AU, it said Person A is trying to close the shop down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 16:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16178873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harrukawa/pseuds/Harrukawa
Summary: “3 words to describe yourself?”“Well.. um, hardworking, loyal, and.. caring.”“I’ll hold you to that, Clementine. Would you be able to start training tomorrow?”“You wou— oh my god, yes, that’d be perfect. Thank you so much.”





	Coffee and Lemonade

_Ring.._

_Ring.._

_"Hello? What's up, Clem?"_

Clementine steps out of the cafe doors, starting to sprint down the sidewalk. "I got the job!" She beams, and she can hear Lee chuckle in her ear.  

_"That's great, sweetie. I knew you could do it."_

"I walked in and I said 'hi I'm Clementine and I'm here for the interview' and the girl sitting there just stared at me for a full minute. Or at least that's what it felt like. Turns out she's the boss! She took me to the back and looked over my resume and then started asking me so many questions," Clementine begins to ramble, clutching her phone closer and closer to her ear. "I didn't think I'd actually be hired— the woman interviewing me seemed so mean, some of the questions she asked me made no sense! She says I start training tomorrow at noon." She can't stop smiling as she slows her pace, panting a bit in the slightly chilly air.

_"Tomorrow? For real? They must be really short on staff, then."_

"You think?" 

_"They must be, if they hired you."_

"Hey!" At her sound of indignation, Lee begins to laugh. Clementine can't help but smile.  

_"Just messing with you. I really am glad you got it, I used to go to that cafe every day at 4."_

"I know, Lee, you've told me a million times." She rolls her eyes, forgetting he couldn't see her. 

This earns another laugh from Lee. " _I'm just excited. I'll see you soon, love you._ "

"Bye." She comes to a halt on the sidewalk to hang up her phone, then she shoves it deep into her coat pocket. 

This'll be fun. 

——- 

It had only been a week at her new job and thing were slowly going downhill.  

Training was easy enough, the only problem was memorizing the ingredients in each drink. Marlon helped her out with that, a blonde boy about her age.

He taught her how to make the drinks, man the cash register, prep for opening, and it turned out she had a knack for latte art.

"You're pretty good at that!" Marlon had said, eying her fifth attempt at a tulip shape.

"Really?" She glanced at it again, it was pretty lopsided, but not _terrible_.

"Yeah. I'm gonna be honest with you," Marlon chuckled, "I've been doing this for a while now and mine is only a little better than yours. With more practice, I'm sure you'll be great at it." 

Clementine started actually working soon after that. It seemed as if the cafe was short on staff, maybe it would've taken longer to actually start working if they hadn't. Really the only staff member she had seen was Marlon, and a girl with glasses leaving late one time, but she wasn't sure of her name.

 When she showed up on her first day, she'd assumed there'd be other people.

"Where's everyone else?" She'd asked Marlon.

"Oh, it's just me in the afternoons. Lilly's working on hiring more staff members— she's just so busy with her dad she barely has time to do anything."

Clem and Marlon had the afternoon to closing shift— which coincidentally seemed to be the hardest shift. She obviously hadn't known that at the time of choosing it.

Afternoons were their busiest times, it became a real hassle to run back at forth between the counter and register. She had no idea how Marlon did it on his own, for however long he'd been working there.

Clementine asked him about it one day as he was locking the doors at 9. "How long have you been working here, Marlon?"

He sighed, then turned the lock, "A really long time."  

She didn't press any further.

"Hey, Clementine?" 

Clementine immediately looked up at him, clutching her phone closer. "Yes?"

"I've gotta leave work early tomorrow— Lily told you that, right?" 

She nodded. Marlon nodded too.

"I only have to leave around 8. Do you think you'll be able to close on your own? I'm just.. a little worried.”

"You don't think I'm capable enough?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying—"

"I'm just messing with you, Marlon," Clementine laughs, "I'll be fine, I promise."

"You remind me of my friend," Marlon rolls his eyes, placing the keys to the cafe into his pocket. "That's not a compliment, by the way."

—

Marlon had left only 30 minutes ago and she already wanted to run out the door. Customers kept coming and coming with no signs of stopping, kept getting angry with her when she told them they were out of a specific item, and kept mumbling their names when she asked for them.  

Clementine seriously didn't know how Marlon did this before.

Things started to slow down around 8:45. The last customer left around 8:54, and Clementine was finally able to breathe.  

That only lasted 2 minutes. 

A guy bursts through the door, carrying a small bag on one shoulder. Clementine had never seen him here before, but then again, she hadn't been working here long. She straightens herself up as he approaches the register, feeling a little nervous. He does a double take when his eyes land on Clementine's, slight falter in his step, but it goes away almost instantly.

"Hello, what can I get for you today?" She starts, half-smiling. Lilly got on her yesterday for not smiling with her teeth, but she wasn't here now and she's pretty sure this man won't tell on her. Most likely.

"Hey, can I get a.." he glances up at the menu, looking over the items carefully. It's definitely his first time here. He drums his fingers on the counter before saying, "Well I don't know, there's just so many options! What would you recommend?" 

"Um." Clementine starts, a little thrown off guard by the question. She hadn't really been asked that before, so she picks the first thing that pops into her head, "A macchiato?"

"Okay,“ The guy says, glimmer of mischief in his eyes. “I'll have a small matcha lemonade."

"Sure thing." Clementine says softly, a tad irritated. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Nah, just that."  

"2.75 please."

He hands her the money, which she quickly puts into the cash register. Pulling a cup out from the stack, she looks up at him expectantly. "Name?"

"Louis." He grins. 

She scribbles it out onto his cup, then gets to work making his drink. She allows herself to zone out as she puts in the syrup, her mind drifting to the comforts of her home. Luckily she'd be able to go after this customer, it had been a terribly long hour without Marlon. 

"Here you go, sir." Clementine says as she finishes Louis' drink, only now noticing he'd been watching her make it. She hands it to him with a small smile.  

"Thank you very much.." His eyes drift to her chest before he beams, "Clementine." 

 _Right. Of course_. Her name tag.

"Pretty name!" He takes a sip, unmoving from the counter. "Wow! This is amazing, how long have you been working here?"

Oh. Small talk! "Almost a week." Clem says shortly, glancing at the clock behind him.

8:58– really all she wanted was to go home now. It suddenly felt like she hadn't slept in a week. 

"Wow," he repeats, though seemingly genuinely impressed, "you're, like, super good. Specialize in lemonade?"

"Not really." She shrugs, and when Louis doesn't answer she adds, "I like doing the art pieces on top of lattes."

"That's amazing! Now I wish I ordered a latte." Louis chuckles lightly, taking another sip of his lemonade.

"Maybe you can get one.. tomorrow?" Clementine gives him a tiny smile, hoping he gets the hint.

"Maybe I will! Anyway—" he continues, oblivious, "It's my first time here, I'm sure you can tell."

"Yes, I thought so." She takes another glance at the clock.  

"It's that obvious, huh! My buddy comes here a lot, he recommended it to me. I never got the chance to check it out until today." He smiles again, dazzlingly, wider than before. Almost like when you're telling a joke and you're getting closer and closer to the punchline— you can't stop smiling since you know what's coming.  

"Glad you stopped by, then."

A pause.

"Yup!" Louis says, then turns to leave. Clementine barely gets a second to register it before he turns again and instead takes a seat at one of the cafe tables. He pulls his bag off of his shoulder and takes out his laptop, then begins typing away.

Having people that stayed a little over 9 wasn't necessarily new, she just hadn't had to kick anyone out yet. They really all left on their own accord, or Marlon would say something. She didn't want this man to complain to Lily about her, she would fire her in a heartbeat, most likely. Lily didn't seem to enjoy listening to excuses.

Clementine doesn't realize she's staring at the guy until he looks back up at her, and she quickly snaps her head down to look at the counter. She grabs a rag and starts wiping the place down, though it was nearly spotless already. She wasn't exactly sure what to do. She didn't want to be mean, you know, it was his first time here and he'd been pretty nice to her. Aside from the whole macchiato thing, but that might've been an odd joke.

15 minutes pass, the only sound coming from the clicking of Louis' fingers on his keyboard. Clementine had cleaned the counter and display case, picked up the trash on the tables, stocked the side area with spoons and sugar, and flipped the chairs onto all of the tables (aside from _one.)_

He hadn't budged. 

What would Marlon tell the customers? She racks her brain for any of the times he'd said something.

"Sir..." 

That's about all she remembers.

As a last resort, she takes out the keychain to the cafe. At the sound of the jingle, Louis' head snaps up, "What time do you guys close?"  

Thank God. "Nine." At least she didn't have to kick him ou—

"Cool," he says, and goes right back to typing.

"Sir, I have to close th—" Clementine starts, panicking, but Louis cuts her off.

"I'm just messing with you!" At his words, he slides his computer back into his bag, and slips it onto his shoulder. He stands, picking up his chair and flipping it onto the table for her. "I wanted to see how long it'd take you to kick me out. To be honest, I've just been typing random letters in a word document for the past 15 minutes."

Clementine blinks, appalled. "Huh?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," He chuckles. "My buddy actually works here and has been telling me about you. He says it's your first time closing, he asked me to come check up on you."

"Oh my god." She places her head in her hands, resisting the urge to sink down onto the floor. 

"Okay! Maybe I took it a little too far— I'm sorry." Louis shifts from one foot to another uncomfortably, "but it was a little funny, right?"

”Just..Just hold on.” Is all she says in response, not knowing how to handle this. He stops talking, his face a mix of confusion and guilt. 

Instead of confronting it, she just grabs the mop and finally wipes up the floor, then heads into the bathroom to wipe down the mirrors. She emerges from the back after hanging up her apron and hat, and Louis is surprisingly still standing there, looking at her expectantly. 

"Okay, come on." Clementine grabs the keys, unsure of what else to say. She starts towards the entrance, gesturing for Louis to come as well. He hesitantly follows, and they exit together. 

It's dark outside, with crickets and cicadas chirping somewhere in the distance. There's a gentle breeze, and she suddenly regrets telling Lee she'd walk home today. Driving would've been a lot more comfortable.

Louis stops behind her, waiting for her to lock up. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a tiny bit bad. Louis was just playing a joke, messing with her a little bit. Plus, staying with her while she finished cleaning up was.. kind of sweet? He didn’t just leave her, he actually stayed like he told Marlon he would.

She turns towards the door with the keys in her hands. 

"I guess it was." She avoids Louis' eyes, focusing intently on the keys. When she feels Louis' eyes on her, she adds, "A little funny." 

Clementine doesn't turn back to look at him as she slides the key into the lock, but she can hear the smile on his face when he exclaims, "You're pretty cool, Clem! Marlon told me that, I wanted to see for myself."

Clementine turns the key, unable to keep from asking, "What else has he said about me?"

"Well, um.." Louis chuckles nervously, "That's about it."

She glances at him, cocking an eyebrow. He seems to be avoiding her eyes, instead messing with his bag on his shoulder. Clementine decides to change the subject.

"Thanks for checking on me. Even if you did it through a bad joke." She puts the keychain into her pocket, making a mental note to give it back to Marlon on her next workday. She had tomorrow off.

"You said it was funny!" Louis scoffs, crossing his arms, but there's still a big grin on his face. "If it helps any, Marlon is gonna kill me when he finds out what I did."  

Clementine can't help but giggle, wondering how the two even became friends in the first place. She's just about to ask when Louis pipes up again, looking a little more serious, his smile suddenly gone.

"I should.. I should probably get going now. See you, Clem."

"See you." She replies. Louis shifts uncomfortably again, looking as if he wanted to say one more thing, but he quickly shuts his mouth once more. He sets off with a wave and a goofy grin.

Clementine smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Talk to me on my tumblr: @saiion :)


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